Escape Room

There’s a thirst for the dramatics and over indulgent theming, but in reality it’s more light-hearted fun than anything else

If Escape Room turned out to be anything other than what it is, it’s shock value would have been its greatest asset. This is a film with no surprises, no experimenting and absolutely nothing new, but, that doesn’t mean it is void of excitement, and for a film lacking in any real individuality, that is quite the effort.

Six individuals across America are sent mysterious boxes by close friends and relatives. Once opened, the message inside invites them to try an escape room with a $10,000 prize for anyone who can complete its tasks. Yet once inside the room, the group soon realise that the prize may come with a price, far greater than the one on offer.

Without the aforementioned shock value, Escape Room needed another asset to make it thrill, but it doesn’t find one in anything other than its initial idea. It is very much B-Movie standard acting with low production value and a very closed central setting, though that does come with the fact the film is set in an escape room. It feels more run of the mill than anything majorly exciting, and it certainly isn’t as enjoyable as completing an actual escape room. It lacks the claustrophobia and the mystery to match the real thing.

It’s style is particularly reminiscent of 2017’s The Belko Experiment, and it heavily lends tone from similar films with low artistic value. There’s a thirst for the dramatics and over indulgent theming, but in reality it’s more light-hearted fun than anything else. Escape Room certainly isn’t a horror, more of a thriller-mystery combo, with little to show other than its populist nature. It certainly plays up to its audience, but in these cases, that really isn’t a great trait to have.